Q-School

The first day of the PGA Tour Qualifying School tournament took place today. Better known as Q-School, this tournament features players trying to make their first crack at professional stardom, as well as major winners who have seen their game slip considerably, and everyone in between. Q-School is arguably the greatest challenge in golf. With pre-qualifying tournaments, first stage, second stage, and final stage, it is by far the greatest test of consistency in golf. The final stage alone consists of six rounds, compared to four in a regular PGA tournament.

Some of the big names in this year's Q-School include Rich Beem, David Duval, Jason Gore, Lee Janzen, and Boo Weekely. After day one, Vaughan Taylor and William McGirt lead with scores of seven under par. One cannot hope to win it all on the first day, but they certainly can lose it all. Ty Tryon, who won one of the first stage qualifiers, shot a sloppy 76 today. As well, Boo Weekely shot a disappointing 74.

It will be interesting to see who comes out victorious at the end of six days, and who fails to get the job done. There are always some great meltdowns at Q-School and some great surges back up the leaderboard. I can't wait to read about all of it at the end of day six.

That's all for me,

Hendo

World Cup of Golf and Tiger's Resurgence

This past weekend, the Omega Mission Hills World Cup took place in Hainan, China. The event features two man teams from all over the world. Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland represented the US, the eventual champions of the event. Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell fared well, finishing tied for fourth, despite being the favourites to win at the beginning of the final day. The event usually does not receive large amounts of press from the sporting world as it happens in late November, when the golfing season has long come to a close. However, I feel the event deserves some more recognition. Golf is, by nature, an individual sport. It presents a chance for a man to be on top of the world, and for no one to question his abilities. The World Cup allows the sport to be forged into a team sport, where teams must work together synergistically to achieve a common goal, much like the Ryder and President's Cups. As we have all witnessed for many years, America has taken top honours this year in the world of golf. First, in the FedEx Cup, when Bill Haas won. Then, the Americans defeated the international squad handily to claim the President's Cup for a fourth straight time. And now, the Americans have won the World Cup of golf. Thus ends a successful season for American golfers, this at a time when European, South African and Australian golfers were the talk of the town.

Another American had an autumn to remember, he being Tiger Woods. Everyone was so quick to count Tiger out after the knee surgeries and his infidelities and subsequent marital fallout. However, we saw a glimpse of old Tiger as he played his way to a fourth place finish at the Australian Open and followed it up with a stellar performance at the Ryder Cup. Although Tiger arguably had his shakiest year ever on tour, and was winless, there exists a glimmer of hope that he will regain his old form and win again on tour for years to come. I, for one, believe it will be good for the game to see Tiger dominate like he once did. Tiger's career will one day be over and another superstar will supplant him as the most dominant player in the world. But until that day, I'd like to see Tiger smash Jack's record of eighteen majors. You can choose to disagree, but it sure would make for some good TV.

Cheers,

Hendo

USA Wins the President's Cup

The President's Cup ended yesterday at Royal Melbourne in Australia with the Americans claiming their fourth straight title, defeating the international squad 19-15. Going into the week, much was made of Fred Couples' questionable captain's pick of Tiger Woods, when a plethora of other options were available. He could have gone with major winner Keegan Bradley, but decided to put his trust in his old friend Tiger. Woods was coming off a good week at the Australian Open where he finished fourth.

The Americans led all week, and the internationals were forced to play catch-up. Despite a late-Sunday drive by the internationals, Woods clinched the cup on the 15th hole against Aaron Baddeley, to win 4&3. This marks the first time a captains pick has clinched the cup. The Americans would go on to win 19-15.

Hunter Mahan celebrates the US victory with some Aussies down under

Jim Furyk, coming off a career year in 2010 when he won the FedEx Cup, had his fair share of struggles this year. Furyk went winless and was haunted by his shaky putting. However, for some strange reason, Furyk putted sensationally on the speedy, troublesome greens of Royal Melbourne. Furyk went undefeated to a 5-0 record this week and was a big reason for the American's win.

Greg Norman, the captain of the dejected international squad, will be stepping down from the captain's post. He has lost the last two President's Cup and will be stepping away to afford another golfing great to lead the international squad to a win in two years time. After the tournament, Norman raised questions about the format of the event. Norman called for significant changes to be made. He would like to see the host nation be able to choose the format and schedule of the events and also be allowed four captains picks instead of two. Norman was obviously distraught after the week's events.

So, the golf season is all but winded down now with the conclusion of the President's Cup. But that doesn't mean there isn't great golfing news and tips to read about, so stay tuned!

Hendo

An Interesting Week in the Golf World...

It's November 10th. Do you know what that usually means in the world of golf? Well, usually, nothing. The PGA, Nationwide and Champions Tour seasons have long winded down and the only golf potentially on the docket is the President's Cup or Ryder Cup. I suppose it is only fitting that in 2011, a year full of bizarre twists and turns and full of first-time winners, that we have a slew of equally bizarre and surprising news stories in Novmeber of all months.

First, congratulations to Tiger Woods who had his first bogey-free round in tournament play since February at the Dubai Desert Classic. He fired a 4-under 68 on Thursday at the Australian Open, as he gears up for next week's President's Cup at Royal Melbourne.

John Daly was also playing in this week's Australian Open. Was. The oft-troubled American had a very interesting Thursday afternoon on the links. Daly took a penalty on the Par 4 10th hole as he played the wrong ball, en route to a triple bogey. Then, on the very next hole, he proceeded to fire SEVEN(!!!) balls into the drink. He might have ended up losing more, but alas, he was all out of the little white spheres. Poor guy. He handed signed and handed in his scorecard and walked off the course. Obviously Daly has received negative press for his actions and some claim he simply did not want to play anymore.  Trevor Herden, Golf Australia's Director of tournaments called Daly's actions "unprofessional". According to Herden, rules officials would have been able to give Daly more balls in order to continue playing, and face no penalty. Obviously, it would be easy for one to chastise Daly for his recent actions given his history of alcohol, gambling, marital and general life problems. However, I wouldn't be so quick to pass judgement. Perhaps he was unaware he could be given new golf balls by officials.

Another interesting recent story in the world of golf is one about something that WON'T happen. Yani Tseng, the LPGA phenom who has won 11 times this year on the LPGA Tour and has quickly climbed to number 1 in the women's rankings, has turned down an offer from the PGA Tour to compete in an event next season. Tseng had told reporters earlier that, if given the opportunity, she probably would not turn it down. I personally think that Tseng made the right move. It wasn't so long ago that Annika Sorenstam competed in a PGA Tour event, and we know how that turned out. PGA Tour players were outraged for the most part, and she didn't play particularly well. While I admire her courage in competing with the men, I think there's a reason the LPGA Tour exists. Women shouldn't feel the need to compete against men in golf. Men hit it further, plain and simple. Many women are exceptional players, but they should compete against other women. Tseng has excelled in her game, the game she plays on the LPGA Tour, not the PGA Tour. Not only has Yani avoided controversy, she has shown she is confident that she is the best, and doesn't need to prove to herself she is by playing with the men.

That's it for now. I'll be blogging soon about the Steve Williams comments and the Australian Open as it unfolds.

Cheers and comment if you agree or disagree with my views,

Hendo

Happy Halloween!

Happy halloween everyone,

As promised, here are my favourite golf-related halloween costumes and famous golfers you could dress up as tonight:

Payne Stewart:

Pay tribute to the late Payne Stewart and his old-timey fashion sense by dressing up like him this halloween.

Or how about the gopher from the great golf film Caddyshack:

Here's a gopher costume you can buy if you don't feel like making it yourself. Here's the link:
http://www.buycostumes.com/Caddyshack-Gopher-Adult-Costume/800782/ProductDetail.aspx


Throw on your beater and grab your 7-iron and you can dress up as Tin Cup:

And lastly, my personal favourite costume and golf movie of all time, Happy Gilmore:

Grab your Bruins jersey and any old golf club (or a putter shaped like a hockey stick) and channel your inner Happy Gilmore. Even better, get your buddy to dress up as Bob Barker!

Thanks for reading and happy halloween everyone,

Hendo

Welcome to the PGA Tour...

With the Nationwide Tour season concluding today at the Nationwide Tour Championship, we now know the identities of the twenty-five newest PGA Tour members. See the full list here:

http://www.pgatour.com/2011/tournaments/h045/10/29/final25/index.html

Ken Duke, age 42, was able to move up the leaderboard to win the championship. He also moved up to 7th on the money list, granting him PGA Tour membership in 2012. The Canadian Jason Kokrak also gained PGA Tour membership.

At the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic in Malaysia, Bo Van Pelt fired an incredible 64 on the final day that included five birdies in the last eight holes to claim a six-stroke victory. Van Pelt finished at an incredible 23-under par.

Stay tuned for my post on the best golf-related halloween costumes!

Hendo

What a weekend!

This weekend's Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic (what a mouthful) at the Disney Resort in Florida may go down as the most thrilling and entertaining Fall Series event in PGA tour history. Webb Simpson, fresh off a playoff loss to Ben Crane last week, entered the tournament tops on the money list. Luke Donald, in second on the list, essentially needed a win in order to claim top spot on the list. And what did Donald do? He won. Four shots back at one point on Sunday, Donald made a ridiculous string of six(!!!) birdies to start the back nine. He won by two and claimed his third victory of the season and takes top spot on the money list. I think it's safe to say he is the PGA Tour Player of the Year (not to mention he did all this while also leading the European Tour money list).

In other golf news, not only has Tiger tumbled down the world golf rankings to 55th, but Phil Mickelson has been ousted from the top 10 by Webb Simpson, who started the year at 213th.

Now, let's move away from the world of golf and turn to a very serious issue. I face this issue far too often, usually in pressure-packed situations or on days you lack confidence for whatever reason. I'm talking about the putting 'yips'. Basically, one falls into the mindset of "don't miss it" and they begin to make poor strokes and can become shaky and lose all confidence in their putting. If this ever happens to you on the putting surface, which I know it does, here are a couple simple things to remember to try:

1. Your Grip:
The most noticeable effect of the yips is a strong, tense grip. Try relaxing a little and have a looser grip. As well, your bottom hand (right hand for righties) often becomes strong and takes over the stroke. The bottom hand should have a minimal effect on the putting stroke. Move your lower hand under the putter grip more and relax it.

2. Stroke Speed:
Players struggling with the yips will often try to speed their stroke up so there's less chance of them mis-hitting it. However, this ruins your rhythm and tempo and will make the yips persist. Once you have fixed your grip, try slowing down your stroke.

Thanks for reading,

Hendo

As Golf Season Winds Down...

Hello fellow golfers and enthusiasts of the game,

It's that time of year again. Time to lock your clubs away somewhere down in your cold, dark basement and not see them again till the snow has melted and the trees begin to grow again. For many, including myself, this can be a depressing time. Winters in Canada can be extremely cold and long, and usually golf is the furthest thing from one's mind. However, my blog will put an end to this injustice! I will regularly post interesting news from the world of golf and I will also post helpful drills and tips to improve your game. Just because you can't play doesn't mean you can't practice.

With the PGA Tour's McGladrey Classic coming to an end to day in Sea Island, Georgia, and Webb Simpson only two shots off the lead, perhaps now is as good a time as any to consider player of the year candidates. Obviously, Simpson has had a coming-out of sorts this year, winning the Wyndham Championship in August and following that up with a win three weeks later at the Deutsche Bank Championship. He also had an incredible run at the FedEx Cup and the $10-million prize. Of course, the eventual winner of the FedEx Cup Bill Haas also had an amazing year.

One should not overlook the play of Luke Donald however, who, coming into this week, was #1 on the money list, has the most top-10s with 13 and has the lowest scoring average of anyone on tour. Just as incredible, he also leads the money list on the European Tour. No player has ever led the money list on both tours at the end of the season. Despite the fact Donald didn't win a major this year, I consider him to be the player of the year.

Tiger Woods had a decent return to competition last week at the Frys.com open, placing 30th and ten shots off the lead. Tiger has a new caddie, Joe LaCava, and has been working hard with his swing coach Sean Foley. Watch Tiger next year. I have a feeling we may see performances reminiscent of the old Tiger.

With the President's Cup just a couple weeks away, there is still some quality golf to be seen this year. Hopefully Tiger can regain some of his old magic and build some confidence going into the short off-season.

I'll be back soon with some helpful tips and drills for players of all levels to try out. Feel free to comment if you agree/disagree with any of what I've said.

Peace and good golfing,
Hendo